For Your Sake
by yamarik
Summary: Deku loves his boyfriend. So when his boyfriend's life is on the line, he'll do anything. Even become a villain.
1. The Breaking Point

Tuesday, 11:30 PM

Deku's phone rang first. They were just clearing up after a late supper when it rang.

"I'll get the dishes. You never wash them right anyway," Katsuki said.

"Thanks, Katsuki," Deku replied, giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek before picking up the phone. On the other end, his senpai began shouting urgently about the League of Villains. Just then, Katsuki's phone rang too, and that's when Deku knew there was trouble. Whatever the League of Villains was up to, it was big, big enough for both their agencies to be calling them in after-hours to help out.

The emergency was Nomus. The exact number was unknown, but there were plenty of them. And villains. It was like the time in Hosu City with the Hero-Killer Stain, only many times worse. Heroes from all over would be flocking to reach the city, but before that, everyone who could fight was needed, and needed now.

"Katsuki, I'll be heading out first," Deku called, having changed into his uniform while still on the phone.

"Hold on a sec," Katsuki said into the phone, then called out "Izuku, be careful, okay?"

"You too," Deku called. And then the door was shutting behind him and he was off, running towards the city proper. Now that he was outside, he could hear distant crashes, and he could see flames as well. At the rate things were going it wouldn't have been much longer before he and Katsuki noticed the commotion on their own.

Back in their apartment, Katsuki looked at the dishes in the sink and sighed. With the way things were, he really couldn't afford to delay heading out to help at all, but he really did hate to leave a mess. Oh well. The world wouldn't end from dirty dishes. However, it might become a much worse place if he didn't do his job. With another sigh he went to get changed and head out himself.

x

Wednesday, 2:45 AM

There was work to be done everywhere. People were trapped in damaged buildings, they were being held hostage or attacked, villains were looting stores, they were destroying whatever they could, they were hurting whoever they saw, and the Nomus- the Nomus were doing what they did best. There were even some heroes who had devoted themselves solely to removing injured heroes from danger before they got killed. Even still, bodies were piling up: civilian, villain, and hero alike.

Even after hours of every hero within shouting distance fighting for all they were worth, the situation had barely changed. There was just too much to do, and to make things worse, many times Kurogiri of the League of Villains had a way of coming to the rescue when villains were in danger; either whisking them to safety or moving the hero or heroes they'd been fighting to a disadvantageous location.

Kacchan was beginning to feel the strain of fighting for so long. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. But the villains had to be tiring too, right? So as long as he outlasted them, then everything would be fine. He could do it. After all, he could hardly stop fighting before Izuku, and Izuku would surely hang in there until the end.

Kacchan moved to explode the villain he'd been fighting, only to find himself falling through one of Kurogiri's warp gates. He threw himself forward, guaranteeing Kurogiri wouldn't close the gate with him halfway in it still, and caught himself, taking in his new location and what was going on around him.

He'd been warped by Kurogiri twice already that night, and both times had ended up being dropped into situations that would have spelled certain death for a lesser hero than him. This time was different. No one was moving to attack him. He wasn't in any immediate danger. Was Kurogiri tiring too, and had messed up?

A scream sounded ahead of Kacchan, and he raced forward, charging into an alleyway. He took in the sight of two Nomus, bending over a trio of children. He sprang onto a dumpster and leapt at the Nomus, using explosions to go even higher, and flipped in midair, using another set of explosions to go shooting downward at the Nomus. He set off another explosion just before he plowed headfirst into one of them, changing directions and attacking at the same time. The Nomu gave an animal scream and reeled backwards, and Kacchan took the opportunity to throw a blast at the other Nomu, just before it grabbed one of the children.

As the second Nomu also stumbled back, Kacchan grabbed the smallest child and yelled at the other two "Go!", running towards the open end of the alley to escape. He'd evacuate the kids first, and then he could worry about the Nomus.

They reached the open space of the main street and Kacchan released a long blast into the air, sending flames high upward in a flare of sorts. Hopefully someone nearby would see it and come for the kids. Hopefully a hero and not a villain. In the meantime, he would make sure they stayed safe. He was a hero after all.

Kacchan released the child he'd been carrying and turned to make sure the other two had made it out alright as well. The were just behind him, panting, but unharmed. Except behind them…

"Move!" Kacchan yelled, lunging forward and tackling them just in time to avoid being whipped by a tentacle from one of the Nomus. It seemed the Nomus couldn't wait. If he wanted to protect the kids, he had to finish off the Nomus.

Kacchan surged upright, ignoring the crying children, and charged forward into battle. The one that he'd hit first still seemed to be in pain from his attack, so he blasted it again and went after the other, which seemed to be the bigger threat. He dodged another tentacle, blasting it as he did with enough force that it was severed. He kept an eye on it, just in case it would still move on its own or reattach itself. It did neither. Good. He could handle this.

He had blasted off another three tentacles when he sensed something behind him. He started to turn, but just then the tentacle one threw itself at him, and he had no choice but to blast it. As he did so, he felt something enter his lower back, just right of the spine. He looked down, unsure if he'd been run through completely. He didn't see anything sticking out of his front, but then again, he could already feel whatever had stabbed him being pulled out. He turned and sent out an explosion, knocking the Nomu he'd ignored backwards before it could stab him a second time. But then something wrapped around him, and he went flying as he was thrown by yet another tentacle. He landed by the children.

His vision was starting to blur, and he knew he must be bleeding a lot. He was really in trouble, and those kids were too since the Nomus were coming this way. He had to protect them. It's what Izuku would do.

Izuku…

Kacchan had only blinked, and yet the Nomus were right there now, and the one that had stabbed him was swinging its arm, which was more of a blade than an arm now, and he knew it was going to cut the children in half. He had to stop it.

The explosion hit the Nomu at the same time as the ice did. The other Nomu screeched and fled, and Kacchan sighed with relief. They'd be safe now. And he could rest a bit…

"Bakugou! Bakugou!" someone shouted, and his eyes snapped open. What was he thinking, he could rest? There were still other villains and Nomus out there, weren't there?

"Shut up already, you half and half jerk," Kacchan growled. "Hurry up and get those kids out of here."

"Ingenium is already taking care of it. Come on, we need to get you to-"

"I'm fine. Just do me a favor and freeze this up, will you?"

"What do you mean, you're fine? You've been stabbed!"

"No shit. But I can still fight, if you stop the bleeding for me. So freeze it, cauterize it, I don't care how, just help me out! We can't let the city get overrun!"

"I don't think that's a good idea. You really should-"

"I really should go do my job! And you should do yours, too! We're heroes, and that means we should be stopping the villains and saving people, right? So let's do it already!"

"I really don't know what Midoriya sees in you," Todoroki muttered.

"And I don't see why he's friends with a jerk like you!" Kacchan snapped, then howled as Todoroki's flames seared his back where he'd been stabbed. A moment later, ice covered the same area, increasing the burning he felt. He grit his teeth and fought to stay conscious. It would be just like Todoroki to have him evacuated if he passed out. He needed to stay and fight. He was a hero!

"Has the bleeding stopped?" he asked through his clenched teeth.

"For now. But it could start up again at any time. You really need to-"

"Thanks," Kacchan said, and got to his feet. "Later," he said, and headed off. Behind him, he heard a loud noise, and he knew Todoroki wouldn't be able to ignore whatever it was. Up ahead, he could see a villain smashing a window. There was work to be done everywhere. In the past three hours, that was the one thing that hadn't changed.

x

Wednesday, 6:30 AM

It happened all at once. Suddenly there were heroes all around him, reinforcements finally arriving, and the villains and Nomus fled in that same instant. Deku fell to his knees, exhausted. How many hours now had he been fighting? How many hours now since he'd last gotten any sleep?

Deku fumbled for his phone. First thing first: he needed to call Katsuki. Knowing that guy, he'd probably be angry Deku hadn't been calling him to say he was okay at least once an hour. Katsuki was good at finding silly things to get angry at like that; it was his way of worrying. Deku couldn't help but smile. He couldn't wait to get home. Katsuki would probably beat him there and complain about him taking so long. Or maybe he'd complain that the sun was already coming up. Was it that late already?

Deku absently pressed the button to call Katsuki. It began to ring.

And it kept ringing. And ringing.

Katsuki was never one to let his phone ring for very long. He insisted all ringtones were annoying. Deku was beginning to get nervous when Katsuki finally picked up.

"Ah, Katsuki-" Deku said, but was interrupted by the wrong voice.

"Midoriya-chan?" Tsuyu-chan's voice asked.

"Tsuyu-chan? Where's Katsuki?"

"Midoriya-chan, I think you should get over here fast. Bakugou-kun is hurt pretty badly."

"W-where?" Deku asked, then added "are you?"

"I'll text you the location in just a moment," Tsuyu-chan said, and hung up.

Deku waited anxiously for what was probably only 20 seconds or so, but felt like an eternity. Finally, his phone dinged, and he opened it up to see a location flagged on a map. Despite his exhaustion, he instantly powered up One For All as much as he could handle at the moment and raced off, needing to get to that place as fast as he could.

The medics were already there when Deku arrived. There were people lying around all over the place in all sorts of states of disarray. Several were tied up, meaning they were villains. Some were heroes, some were Nomus. One of the Nomus was in pieces. A few of the heroes and villains stared at nothing with lifeless eyes. It was a bleak scene, and it was not the kind of place Deku wanted to find Katsuki, not when Katsuki was "hurt pretty badly".

Deku spotted Tsuyu-chan and a couple other former classmates over by a cluster of medics, and crossed the distance with a single bound. He pushed his way towards the medics, and then wished he hadn't.

Katsuki was propped on his side, and the medics were looking at a wound on his back. It was puckered oddly, like it had been burnt, and oozing. That was the first thing Deku noticed, but then he took in the various other injuries: cuts and gashes, burns and bruises, and a wrist at an awkward angle. Both of Katsuki's gauntlets were missing, presumably knocked off by a foe that wanted to limit the range of Katsuki's attacks.

The medics maneuvered Katsuki onto a stretcher, and Deku got a good look at Katsuki's face. It was just as battered as the rest of him, and a sickly ashen shade that made Deku weak in the knees.

"The main concern seems to be blood loss," a voice said. Deku looked up to see the hero Ingenium, who was his former classmate Iida.

"I'm so sorry, Midoriya," said another voice. Everyone sounded like they were far away, but he turned to see Yaoyorozu standing right by him, one arm across her stomach and clenching the other with unease. "When he asked me for a bandage, I thought it was for someone else. Really."

"Yaoyorozu, it's not your fault," Iida said, then added in a lower voice "Nor is it Todoroki's, though I doubt anyone will be able to convince him of that."

"Todoroki? What's he got to do with it?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said, approaching. He got to his knees and went into a dogeza.

"T-Todoroki-kun?" Yaoyorozu asked. Deku stared blankly at his prostrated friend, still in shock at the condition Katsuki was in. His Katsuki, reduced to that. It was unthinkable. Katsuki was strong. There was no way he'd lose to anybody. And yet…

"I found him just after he was injured," Todoroki said. "I tried to tell him to go see a medic but he insisted he could fight and asked me to cauterize or freeze the wound. I thought maybe he would lose consciousness and I could take him to a medic then, but he didn't and then there was a collapsing building and while I was handling that I lost him. If I hadn't listened to him at that time…!"

Deku had heard enough. He turned abruptly and walked away from his classmates. He could hear them calling after him, but he wasn't listening.

x

Over the next two days, Deku received more and more apologies: Uraraka saying she hadn't known he'd asked her to make him lighter because he was having troubles moving already, Kirishima saying they'd been fighting together for a while, and if they had just stuck together this might not have happened, several others saying the same thing, Shinsou saying he should have used his quirk to make Katsuki stop fighting, and countless others. Almost everyone had seen Katsuki at some point after he'd been injured. None of them had stopped Katsuki from fighting.

When it was already Friday and Katsuki had yet to wake up, Deku felt like he was going to shatter. At this rate, Katsuki might never wake up. He might even d- no, that was too horrible a thought. There had to be something Deku could do. Anything.

But the only thing Deku could think to do was blame people. Blame everyone who had apologized. Blame everyone who hadn't. Blame the heroes who had come 3 hours too late. And blame himself for not waiting for Katsuki to get ready.

And then, Friday evening, Deku's phone rang. He jumped at it, hoping, as he'd been hoping for days, that it was news of Katsuki's recovery.

"Is this the hero Deku?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Y-yes," Deku stammered. Was it the hospital?

"I understand you are currently awaiting news on the condition of one Bakugou Katsuki."

"Yes. Is he-"

"He won't wake up."

Deku fell to the floor. No. He didn't want this news.

"At least, not the way things are. He was stabbed by a Nomu who's quirk is a powerful toxin. We hold the antidote to that toxin. No one else has it."

"You're not from the hospital, are you?" Deku asked, voice trembling ever so slightly. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Indeed not. I am calling on behalf of one known as All For One."

Deku felt his heart quiver in fear. He'd heard of All For One from All Might. All For One was dangerous, and evil, and if he had the antidote that Katsuki needed then Katsuki was in trouble, because there was no way All For One would ever use it to save him.

"Normally we would not bother to contact one such as yourself, however, All For One believes that we could make a deal with you," the speaker continued.

"What kind of deal?"

"One of mutual benefit to us, where your dear friend could survive."

"What do you want?"

"We want many things, Midoriya-kun. But what we will exchange for Bakugou's life is simple: join us."

Deku bit his tongue to keep himself from immediately spitting out a negative response. He had no desire to be a villain. But if he said no, what would happen to Katsuki?

"Just so you know, your friend has only survived this long by getting regular small doses of the antidote. Should those doses stop…"

If Deku said no now, Katsuki's death would be on his hands. He couldn't do it. But he couldn't bring himself to agree.

"Still hesitating? Understandable. But is being a hero really such a great thing? It didn't save him, did it? He still got hurt, despite the fact that he's a hero, and despite the fact that there were heroes all around. And not one hero stopped him from getting further injuries. Heroes won't protect your friend. But we will. Come join us, and All For One will personally guarantee that Bakugou Katsuki will be safe." The more the person spoke, the more his words seemed to ring true to Deku. Hadn't Deku thought it himself these last few days, that so many people could have saved Katsuki and yet hadn't? This person was absolutely right. Heroes were worthless. They needed to go. But there was still just one issue.

"What guarantee do I have that you'll keep your word?" Deku asked.

"The League of Villains is acquainted with someone who has a quirk called Oath. If he witnesses an agreement, anyone who breaks that promise will suffer severe consequences. We will have him witness an agreement between you and All For One, should you join us. But keep in mind, this is a limited-time offer."

"I understand. I'll…" Deku hesitated. But no, there was only one way he'd be able to live with himself. "I'll do it," he said, and felt an instant sense of relief. Becoming a villain was a small price to pay for protecting Katsuki.

"Welcome to the League of Villains, Deku.


	2. The Nightmare

It had been a stroke of luck for the League of Villains when Bakugou Katsuki was injured, and by that particular Nomu. They'd been looking for a prominent hero to recruit to their cause, and now they had an easy target: the so-called "New Symbol of Peace", a young hero who had been acknowledged by All Might himself.

Recruiting Midoriya Izuku was a slow process. They waited for a couple of days to make him more desperate, but even then he was still reluctant to join them. However, this was to be expected. All For One had prepared for this, and had found a villain with a quirk that could affect people's minds to make the call. Within a few minutes Midoriya had become convinced that heroes were indeed wrong. Still, All For One could not afford to leave any loose ends, since heroes could be quite tricky, and so they went ahead and signed a contract under the supervision of Oath. Midoriya agreed to aid and abet the League of Villains. All For One agreed to ensure the safety of Bakugou Katsuki. Should either of them break the Oath, the traitor would be strangled by their contract, and the other would be freed of their end of the bargain.

All in all, it was Tuesday afternoon before Bakugou Katsuki received the full-dosage antidote. He finally woke up on Wednesday, a week after he'd first been injured.

x

Wednesday, 1:20 PM

Kacchan had actually been awake for a few hours before they allowed him to have visitors. The hospital staff had been insistent on him undergoing several tests first to ascertain his exact condition. He had been through several different types of scans and been asked a seemingly endless barrage of questions, and was very tired but even more irritable. Would they just hurry up and release him already? He wanted to get home. Izuku would probably be in his worrywart-mode, and to distract him Kacchan would have him make all of their favorite foods.

But no, they insisted that he needed to stay for observation, and after they threatened to restrain him to keep him in the stupid hospital bed he sullenly agreed to stay. They then informed him that he had visitors, and began showing them in a few at a time.

Kacchan had expected Izuku to be the first one to come in, but he wasn't. It was disappointing, but then again, Izuku was probably out patrolling. He had such a strong sense of duty, that guy. It was one of the things Kacchan loved about him, even if it was rather inconvenient at times like this.

Instead, various classmates and colleagues came to say hi. Some were overly upbeat, making lame jokes and laughing at everything, clearly trying to create a lively mood but only making it heavier. Others were more restrained, and said how good it was to see him finally awake. And then there was Todoroki, who sat silently in a corner for a good half hour before quietly saying sorry and leaving.

After a while, the stream of visitors trickled to a halt, and Kacchan wondered if he could finally rest now, as all the visitors had tired him. But maybe he should stay up for when Izuku came by. He wondered if Izuku was okay. When Uraraka stopped by, he'd asked her if Izuku had been coping okay with Kacchan being injured like that, and she had dodged the subject quite awkwardly. But it was Izuku they were talking about, so surely he couldn't be doing too bad.

A nurse came by with some medicine. Before she could give it to Kacchan, however, another nurse announced one final visitor. Kacchan perked up immediately, certain it must be Izuku.

But no, it was All Might, holding a bag and wringing his hands and looking very uncomfortable.

"Ah. Hi sensei," Kacchan said with a strained smile, trying not to look too disappointed.

"Yo, Bakugou-shounen," All Might said with none of his usual exuberance. He sat down heavily, placing the bag next to his chair.

"I imagine you're very tired, but I don't think this should wait," All Might said after a long pause.

"Sure," Kacchan said, trying to keep from glancing at the door in case Izuku had come with him and was just in the bathroom. It was unlikely, but he really wanted Izuku to show up and tell him everything was okay.

"About Midoriya-shounen," All Might began. "Four days ago he texted me and some others saying he'd be going after the League of Villains by himself, and that he would be out of touch for a while. I tried to get ahold of him to talk him out of it, but he had stopped answering his phone."

"Izuku will be okay. He can-" All Might was already shaking his head, cutting Kacchan off.

"No, Bakugou-shounen. I'm afraid not. Yesterday, this was found," All Might said, and reached down for the bag. He handed it over, and Kacchan took it with shaking hands. He didn't want to look inside he didn't want to look inside he didn't want to look inside he-

He looked inside.

Kacchan felt his breath catch. This couldn't be happening. He pulled out the fabric inside. It was ripped and torn and stained with blood, and an entire section fell to pieces as he lifted it out of the bag, but it was definitely Izuku's hero uniform. A scrap of paper fell out of the folds of the costume and onto the bed, with writing on the upward face.

"The hero Deku, the 'New Symbol of Peace' is gone," the paper read.

"N-no," Kacchan whispered, his breath coming in short bursts that hurt his chest. "This has to be a lie. Izuku couldn't- he wouldn't-"

"I'm sorry," All Might said sadly.

"It's a lie!" Kacchan screamed.

Immediately, the two nurses from before were in the room, and one of them was sticking a needle in Kacchan's arm. He could hear the other nurse scolding All Might, something about not upsetting a patient in such delicate condition, but the words entered his mind slowly. He'd been sedated, it seemed. That was fine. He was already tired anyway. Maybe when he woke up, he'd find this had all been a bad dream.

Yes, it had to be a horrible dream.

x

Saturday, a week and a half later

In the time since he'd been released from the hospital, the nightmare had yet to end. The first day, he'd tried calling Izuku's phone, only to hear it ringing from by the tv. The second day, he'd gone out and searched for Izuku, certain he'd find some lead, some clue that would prove everything wrong. The third day, he'd turned off his own phone, as he kept getting phone calls from classmates, from colleagues, from former teachers even, and from his parents, all asking if he was okay, telling him they were so sorry, and lots of things he didn't want to hear. He'd even gotten a call from Izuku's mom. He'd thought about answering that one, but he'd just stared at his phone until it stopped ringing. He didn't know how to face her. The sixth day, he'd turned over all the photos hanging in their apartment, unable to bear seeing him and Izuku together being happy. He slept on the couch, because the bed just felt too empty without Izuku snuggled up beside him.

Kacchan did try and keep up appearances. He went out. Sometimes he would try and collect himself and search for leads, but mostly he wandered aimlessly, taking long walks. They hurt, those walks, because he would see people being happy while doing normal things that kept reminding him of Izuku. Kids playing in a park made him think of their childhood days. Couples on the street made him think of how they'd been together. Little old ladies chattering as they walked to the supermarket made him think about the future he and Izuku could have had. But he didn't know what else to do with himself, so he kept on going on those walks.

Normally Kacchan was a neat freak, keeping their apartment spotless. But somehow cleaning seemed like such a chore now. So what if there was a mess? It didn't matter. It wouldn't bring Izuku back if he cleaned it up.

Kacchan hadn't been to work since he'd gotten out of the hospital. He knew people had called. He'd even listened to a few of their messages all the way through. They all said the same thing. They hoped he'd be back at work soon but understood that he would need time to recover from his injuries, and not to overexert himself. As if his injuries were the reason he couldn't bring himself to be a hero anymore.

It was hard to talk to people anymore. Not that he'd ever been great at it. But there were people he knew at the supermarket and at various other places he and Izuku used to go to regularly, and since Izuku was nice to them and he was always with Izuku they'd come to be nice to him until he would try and be nice back. But now he kept his head down when he saw them, avoiding eye contact and failing to return greetings. He began to go to a different supermarket. It was a bit farther and the prices weren't as good, but no one knew him there.

It was a week and a half already. Ten days. Each one felt just like the stab wound that had first injured him, only many times worse.

"Sir?" the clerk asked, bringing him back to the moment. He needed to pay for the groceries he was buying.

"Sorry, how much was that?" he asked.

"3,750 yen please, sir," the clerk repeated for him. Kacchan paid up, accepted the bags, and headed for the door. He barely noticed that someone bumped into him quite rudely as they came in. He reached the door.

"Give me everything in the register! Now!" someone yelled behind him. A robbery. He heard gasps.

"Hurry up, before any heroes arrive!"

Kacchan was a hero.

But not really. Not anymore. Yeah, he was done with that. He was nothing but a failure. This wasn't his problem. Someone else could deal with it. He took a step through the door.

"You're a hero aren't you!"

The voice that screamed this was in his head, only in his head, he could tell it was just his imagination, but it was enough. That was Izuku's voice.

What was he thinking? That with Izuku gone he should just give up? Like hell Izuku would want that. Izuku would want him to help people. He would want Kacchan to stop this robbery. And so Kacchan would do just that. He turned, stepping back through the still open automatic door, rummaging in his bags as he did so. He found what he wanted: a tin of coffee.

Up ahead, he could see the terrified cashier opening up the register. The robber was shouting something else at her. Time seemed to be moving slowly for Kacchan as he continued to walk towards them, drawing his arm back for a throw. Kacchan snapped his arm forward, using an explosion to propel the can of coffee towards the robber at high speed. It hit him on the jaw, catching him completely unawares and knocking him out cold immediately. Every face within sight turned to stare at Kacchan.

"Uh-um, I- uh, I don't have anything to tie him up with on me at the moment, so, uh, you'll have to do that yourself. You can hand him over to the police when they arrive," Kacchan said, and turned and rushed out. He walked as far as the nearest alley, then dodged down it, clutching himself and sliding down the wall to a sitting position. He was completely out of breath, and shaking. Some hero he was, to get so startled by people's attention. Just a couple weeks off and he was already like this? Pathetic.

He took some deep breaths, thinking about what he'd just done. It felt good to be back in action, even if it was as simple as throwing a tin of coffee. Izuku would be proud. Not just that, he was proud of himself. It felt good, being a hero. He'd forgotten that these last few days. It was high time he remembered it already.

"Sir?"

Kacchan started, having not noticed the approach of the clerk from before.

"Wh-what?" he asked.

"Sir, you dropped this," the cashier said, handing over a tin of coffee. It wasn't the one he'd thrown though. That one was surely warped, and also this tin was a hazelnut roast. Kacchan never bought hazelnut out of habit, since Izuku hated the flavor. But with Izuku gone, he supposed it didn't matter, since he thought it was alright.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure the one I 'dropped' is a lump of scrap metal now," Kacchan said. He waited for the girl to leave, but she didn't.

"Are you a hero?" the cashier asked.

Rather than answer, Kacchan pulled out his wallet and found his license and held it out for her to see. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the name on it.

"Wait, you're-" she stared. "Oh my god. Oh wow. My little brother is a huge fan of yours. He says he's gonna be just like you."

"He shouldn't be just like me."

"Why not? That was really cool how you took down that robber just like that. And to be honest, I look up to you too. I have a kinda similar quirk, though to call it similar might be an insult, since well, my quirk is way weaker… It's Firework, by the way. My brother too, though his is stronger. He can shoot off rockets, but all I can really do is sparklers. It's pretty, but otherwise it is useless and weak."

"You're wrong. How strong your quirk is doesn't matter. The only real weakness is in your heart. A good friend of mine, when we were kids, he was just so bad at everything. I used to make fun of him, because I considered him weak. And then he went on to outshine me in every aspect, and is one of the strongest heroes I know. Because he wasn't weak in his heart."

"Well, still. I could never be a hero like you."

"If everyone was a hero, society would fall apart completely. You can be strong without being a hero, you know."

"Thanks," the girl bowed and placed the tin of coffee next to Kacchan, then left him. He waited a moment, then put the can in the bag and stood up.

On his way home, Kacchan stopped by his work. Almost immediately, one of his coworkers came running up to him.

"Bakugou-kun! How have you been?"

"Um, I- uh, I'm feeling better now. So I just thought I'd stop by and say that, starting tomorrow, I think I'll be back at work again. A-and sorry to have caused so much trouble."

x

The next Tuesday-Thursday

Getting back to work was difficult. But somehow, the challenge came as a relief. It gave Kacchan a distraction from his grief, one that was much needed.

However, it was still hard to feel happy, even with his newfound busyness. And he was busy. Since the attack in which he'd gotten injured, the League of Villains had been very active. There had been a lull, but apparently Deku had been the first casualty in a new wave of assault, as more and more heroes were turning up heavily injured or even dead. The survivors told of a new addition to the League of Villains whose strength was unparalleled: presumably he was the one who had taken out the "New Symbol of Peace". He seemed to know how his victims would move before they even moved, and was quick to grasp their weaknesses. Every major agency had been preyed upon so far.

To Kacchan, however, this was irrelevant. His superiors carefully kept him away from any mention of the League of Villains, and for that he was grateful. He wasn't sure he could keep himself from seeking revenge should the opportunity present itself. It wouldn't bring Izuku back, and there was no guarantee it would make Kacchan feel better, but all the same, he did want it.

However, just three days after his return to work, things took a turn for the peculiar.

Kacchan was chasing down a cat burglar that had been plaguing a part of the city when it happened. The cat burglar turned out to be a team. One had a water quirk that proved troublesome, but then another showed up who had a quirk that allowed them to take the oxygen out of an area, which meant he couldn't ignite his quirk. The hero he'd been patrolling with was faring little better: they had a quirk that allowed them to change parts of their body into objects, and were pinned down while their arms, which had been turned to shields, were battered again and again by another couple of team members with speed quirks. His partner wouldn't hold out long, but before that, the fact that Kacchan couldn't breathe would kill him. He had to do something, but what could he do?

And then a warp portal opened, and the cat burglar with the oxygen quirk was sent flying, and Kacchan could breathe and use his quirk again. Before he could do anything, however, darts flew out of the warp portal, hitting every single one of the cat burglars. All of them fell to the ground as the portal closed. Kacchan went to check on the nearest one, and found no pulse. They were dead.

The next day, Kacchan chased a villain with a quirk that allowed him to produce an endless supply of bananas. He'd chased the guy onto a roof, and thought he had things under control, but then he slipped on a banana peel, and went sliding toward the edge, only to go through a warp portal and land on the ground. Moments later, the villain he'd been fighting fell down beside him, in two pieces.

The day after that, Kacchan was suspended from duty, on suspicion of colluding with the League of Villains. They knew so much about the heroes they were targeting that they had to have inside information, and they had rescued Kacchan twice. Not to mention his whereabouts since being discharged from the hospital were unaccounted for. He was confined to a desk instead, to look over the reports his colleagues made on their day-to-day activities and make sure they were proofread and made no unlikely claims. Meanwhile, more heroes were getting injured and killed.


	3. The Encounter

Saturday

Deku was not a fan of his villain outfit. That was what he got for letting All For One choose the design. It was mostly black, with highlights in varying shades of red that looked a little too much like blood. Though he supposed that was the point. Still, even if he'd made up his mind that this was what was right, he still felt squeamish about actually killing people. Even if they needed to die to make the world right again.

He also didn't like the helmet that was part of his outfit. It was little more than a glorified motorcycle helmet, and he didn't know how to drive a motorcycle. It was also hot and stuffy, and it limited his peripheral vision dangerously. So far, he'd been able to account for that, but it still made him uneasy to go into battle against trained heroes with any sort of handicap. If they noticed, they would surely use it against him, and he didn't trust his new allies to back him up. Shigaraki in particular resented their partnership, and still made daily calls to All For One to complain about Deku.

So far, Deku hadn't had to go up against anyone he knew well. It was mostly heroes he knew of from the news, or who he'd worked with only once or twice. This was a relief, as he didn't really like the idea of eliminating people he had cared about, even if it was necessary. He would do it, of course, for Katsuki, but he was happy to put it off for now.

The League of Villains was keeping their word. They had a pair of twins with a quirk that allowed them to see across long distances taking shifts to keep an eye on Katsuki's activities, with Kurogiri on standby to help. Deku knew it was a major blow to the League of Villains to take Kurogiri out of action like that, and he was immensely grateful. So far, Kurogiri's interference had saved Katsuki twice. Better yet, it seemed Katsuki had been put on desk duty until an investigation could be completed. Deku didn't like that the police were suspicious of Katsuki, but if it kept Katsuki from being in danger he would tolerate it.

The League of Villains was keeping their word, and Deku would keep his. They would be mounting another large scale attack soon. They'd be striking a different city this time, since All For One had judged it to be better if they weakened everywhere rather than taking the time to fully crush each city. Deku also suspected it was to keep him protesting that Katsuki could be endangered by their attack. Not that Deku would protest. If push came to shove, he had a contingency plan for keeping Katsuki safe. The League of Villains probably wouldn't like it, and Katsuki definitely wouldn't like it, and Deku himself disliked it but if it became necessary he would. But for now, he would simply strike where he was told to, and help the League create a better world.

x

Two weeks after the appearance of the villain "Blood Fist"

The combination of people at the meeting was rather unusual. There were senior heroes, junior heroes from a variety of agencies, and a few sidekicks. There were two common denominators though: they had all been at UA Academy during a certain three year period, and all had known the hero Deku quite well.

Everyone was quiet, watching a screen. None of them liked what they were seeing. Finally, the screen went dark, the lights were flicked back on, and almost everyone in the room could be seen staring at their laps, not wanting to say what it was they were all almost certain of.

"But why?" Uraraka asked after almost a minute of silence.

"I have yet to come up with a reasonable explanation myself," Principal Nezu said.

"Surely there's another explanation. This can't possibly be-" Iida said, but he was interrupted.

"It is possible that Midoriya-shounen's power was taken from him and given to someone else by All For One," All Might said, "but it is unlikely that the new bearer of his quirk would be able to adjust to it so quickly, or would have the exact same fighting style that Midoriya-shounen did."

"While I am glad to know that Midoriya is still alive, this is certainly disheartening," Todoroki said. Several others in the meeting nodded their agreement.

"Sh-should we tell Bakugou-kun?" Uraraka asked.

"No." Kirishima said, and several others were also shaking their heads. "If that guy knew, there's no telling what he would do. I wouldn't put it past him to go as far as joining them himself."

Everyone shuddered. The League of Villains had been problematic even before Deku had joined them, and since he had debuted as Blood Fist, the League had become formidable. If Bakugou were to also enter their ranks, they might very well be unstoppable.

"What should we do?" Mineta asked.

"For now, perhaps we should try and keep this quiet," Yaoyorozu suggested. "If word were to get out that the New Symbol of Peace has become a villain, the effect it would have on the general public, and on the heroes of this country, would be drastic. Just announcing his death has already impacted morale. Should people discover that he chose to fight against us, public opinion might shift as people begin to wonder if perhaps there is something wrong with the heroes. Meanwhile, the heroes themselves might begin to feel despair at the thought of fighting such an opponent. We need to keep this under wraps."

Everyone agreed. Silence would be best.

x

Friday, 2:00 PM, after a week of suspension

Before being suspended, Kacchan hadn't realized his former classmate Aoyama had ended up working for the same agency as him. He just didn't care. But now he was painfully aware of that fact. The guy's activity reports were a constant thorn in his side, with numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Aoyama barely used Kanji in his reports, and when he did it was almost always wrong, and he loved to throw in random foreign words and phrases. It gave Kacchan a headache just seeing Aoyama's handwriting on his desk.

Worse still, every report he returned to Aoyama for revisions came back unchanged except for the addition of the word "sparkling" added somewhere it really didn't belong. He'd taken to rewriting the reports himself as best he could, but given how incomprehensible Aoyama's reports were, it rarely went well. He'd already submitted three proposals to the agency head suggesting they just give Aoyama a body cam. He'd finally gotten a reply that Aoyama had indeed had a body cam in the past, and he'd readjusted the angle so that it showed his face because "the camera loved him." Similar proposals to have Aoyama be banned from working solo were rejected because everyone who had ever worked alongside him had gotten sick of him after just one hour.

Kacchan groaned as he flitted through the stack of reports in his inbox. Every single one of them was Aoyama's. It was all the ones he'd returned in the past three days. He knew none of them would be any good even without looking at them. Why did he have to be in this hell? It wasn't like he had asked to get saved by that Kurogiri. And what was with that, anyway?

Kacchan instinctively reached for his phone to text Izuku to complain about all this crap, and flinched. He let his hand fall with a sigh. No use texting a phone that no one was using.

"Bakugou!" someone shouted, and Kacchan jumped. "Suit up! We need to get to B City immediately!"

"But I'm-"

"We need everyone we can get! It's either bring you with us and keep you under watch while we help with search and rescue or leave you behind and have you patrolling."

"Got it," Kacchan said, and went to go change into his hero uniform.

Finally. After days and days of this mind-numbing dullness and Aoyama's reports, he could finally be useful again. No more sitting on the sidelines.

As soon as he was changed, Kacchan was escorted to a waiting helicopter. He was worried everyone had had to wait for him, but two more heroes arrived after him before they took off. In the air, someone explained that they would be doing an air drop so the helicopter could transport as many heroes as possible in the least amount of time. Whatever had happened in B City, it seemed it had caused widespread damage, possibly even worse than what had happened when the League of Villains had attacked just a few weeks previously.

Even before B City became visible, they could already see smoke. It seemed there was a fire. A big one. The heroes in the helicopter all stared in mute horror. This was horrible.

And then the city itself came into view.

Anyone familiar with B City's skyline would never have recognized the place. Many of the buildings had been razed, leaving only a portion of the city untouched. It was like it had been an earthquake, only a closer look revealed giant craters. Maybe a freak meteor shower? Except that seemed unreal…

It was finally time for the drop. It was a little scary, since they needed to conserve parachutes and so Kacchan was left to use his explosions to slow his fall. It wasn't the most delicate landing, but he managed it without so much as a sprain. As he looked around, it became clear that whatever had happened here, it certainly wasn't anything natural.

"Bakugou!" someone called, and he looked over to see one of his coworkers jogging towards him. Right, they wanted to keep him under supervision.

"We'll be helping to evacuate residents from the undamaged portion in the east," his colleague, Magnet-man said. Kacchan followed as they jogged through the city, working their way towards their assigned area. The more of the damage he saw, the more certain he was that this wasn't natural. Some of the buildings seemed to have been cut in half. Also, with his quirk, he knew a bit about fires and how they started and spread, and the burn marks he was seeing screamed of human origins. Had the League of Villains done this?

He didn't need to think about that. What mattered now was that there were people in danger and he could help them. That was his job, not seeking revenge.

They had been jogging for almost ten minutes when Kacchan sensed something.

"Get down!" he yelled, tackling Magnet-man. Something whizzed above their heads and hit a nearby wall explosively. The building had already been unstable, and began to crumble, falling towards them.

"Hold on!" Kacchan yelled, and used his quirk to propel both of them out of harm's way.

"Thank you," Magnet-man said, but both of them were looking at the villain who had just appeared before them.

"A-ah, missed twice," the villain complained. "Hey, will you hurry up and die, I want to kill some heroes already."

Before anyone could reply, a warp gate appeared.

"Kurogiri!" Kacchan growled.

"Just a second, Grenade-san!" Kurogiri said. "That one is-"

"Stop being a spoilsport. I bet everyone else has souvenirs from heroes they've killed already. I don't want to be left behind, you know," the unknown villain said and another projectile flew towards Kacchan and his colleague. They both dodged, and when they looked again, a warp gate was closing on half of the villain. With a scream, "Grenade" died. But Kacchan could see it. Kurogiri was still there.

"Kurogiri!" he yelled, rushing forward to attack. He could hear Magnet-man yelling after him, but he paid his colleague no heed. Kurogiri kept making a fool of him by showing up like this, and he was a part of the league of villains, and he had just killed someone right in front of two heroes. There was no way he could just ignore Kurogiri as this point.

A warp appeared in front of him and he changed directions to go around it, but Kurogiri wasn't there anymore. A strangled sound behind him was Kacchan turn, and there Kurogiri was, holding a knife on Magnet-man.

"If you don't want your colleague to-" Kurogiri began, but that was as far as he got before Magnet-man activated his quirk and the knife began to bend away from him. Kacchan didn't waste any time going for the attack. He knew Magnet-man would throw Kurogiri, and he knew where Kurogiri would land, and he knew he could catch Kurogiri and keep him from escaping if he got there in time. Magnet-man made the throw.

And Kacchan was knocked sideways by a blast from his left. He rolled, using the momentum to regain his feet, but Kurogiri had already warped away from Magnet-man and was now standing next to a person wearing black and red. He'd seen the wanted posters on this person. "Blood Fist" they were called, and they were believed to have played a hand in the deaths and permanent injuries of many heroes over the past few weeks. Starting with the hero Deku.

Kacchan shouldn't attack right now. Seeking revenge was no good. He would not make that mistake. But then again, there was a dangerous villain in front of him, and he was a hero. This was not about revenge it was not about revenge it was not about revenge-

"Then I will leave him to you," Kurogiri said, and warped to Magnet-man, and then again, leaving just Kacchan and Blood Fist.

Kacchan faced the villain in front of him. This person had killed Deku. They'd killed a bunch of other heroes too, good ones. They'd also injured so many. Some even called this person "the New Hero-Killer". They needed to be dealt with. He was a hero after all. It wasn't about revenge it wasn't about revenge it was not about-

Fuck it. Kacchan wanted revenge.

"Izuku," he said, and Blood Fist started. Perhaps the villain hadn't expected him to speak. "Izuku- the hero Deku, you killed him?" Kacchan asked.

The figure nodded.

"I see." Kacchan paused, not attacking just yet.

"You know," he told Blood Fist. "I was dating that guy. I loved him. I really, really loved him. And I never told him that. And now, thanks to you, I never will." It was eerie to Kacchan, just how calm he remained as he said all that. The subject was a raw, bleeding wound to him. It hurt. It made him want to lose all rationality and blow up everything in sight, and yet here he was, talking about it without even raising his voice.

"You're probably here to kill me. But if anyone's going to die, it'll be you. For what you did to Deku, I'll kill you."

Blood Fist took a fighting stance in response.

Kacchan took a deep breath. Here went nothing.

He blasted forward, going past Blood Fist and using an explosion to rebound, only to be blocked by his foe. Kacchan began using his hand to hand training to keep it to close combat, striking fast and using explosions wherever he could to keep Blood Fist from being able to go on offense. Yet Blood Fist kept up with him almost effortlessly, moving to block his strikes with speed and efficiency. And was it Kacchan's imagination, or- No, Blood Fist was definitely predicting his strikes. Kacchan used a stronger blast to create some distance between them, circling. The way Blood Fist moved seemed familiar. Almost like they'd fought before. But when?

Kacchan charged in again, this time using a last minute blast to leap up in the air and throw himself downward for a powerful two-handed strike. Blood Fist dodged, but as soon as he touched the ground Kacchan was already moving into a leg sweep, knocking Blood Fist over. Blood Fist recovered quickly, rolling back and then flipping onto his feet, but Kacchan had predicted this and was already striking. His punch connected, leaving his fist aching and knocking Blood Fist's helmet flying. Blood Fist staggered, then lunged after the helmet, but Kacchan had already seen.

"I-Izuku?"

Izuku stopped just short of the helmet, and turned to face Kacchan. Kacchan stared, shocked. This was a lie it had to be a lie it was definitely a lie! He didn't want to believe it, but that was definitely Izuku. It made no sense though. How? Why? He didn't understand.

"I know you don't understand, Katsuki," Izuku said, seeming to read Kacchan's mind the way he always did. "But this is the path I must take."

"Are you fucking kidding me? What the hell do you think you're doing, Izuku? You're a hero, damnit! Why are you running around as a villain? Because of you- do you know how many heroes you've hurt, how many you've killed?"

"I haven't killed anyone. That was the other League members. As for how many I've hurt, the current total is 26."

"How can you say that so calmly? This isn't like you! Stop this, Izuku! Come home. Please. While you still can." Tears were coming, and Kacchan fought to keep them at bay.

"I can't do that, Katsuki. It's as I said before, this is the path I must take."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Katsuki. But it will all work out. I promise."

"What will all work out? What the hell-"

"I'm going to have to hurt you a little. I'm sorry," Izuku said, and before Kacchan could even blink, he felt Izuku's fist slamming into him, sending him flying backwards. He stayed conscious, but he was winded, and could do nothing as Izuku left.

x

Friday, 10:30 PM

Twice watched the encounter between Deku and Bakugou from behind the scenes. It seemed all was still well. Although Bakugou had been attacked, it had been done unwittingly, and Kurogiri had resolved things before any real damage was done, so the Oath would still hold.

All For One had known it was inevitable that the two would eventually meet again, and had been concerned that such an encounter would shake Deku's resolve. His instructions had been that if Deku showed any sign of wavering, Bakugou should be killed. They would make it appear to be the fault of a hero, perhaps even convince a hero to do it of their own accord, and Deku would renew his conviction that the heroes had to be purged.

Twice didn't think All For One's plan would work though. If they couldn't hold the life of his boyfriend over Deku's head, then the Oath would be void, and Deku would have no reason to be their ally. It was why he was against Deku joining them in the first place. As far as heroes went, he actually kind of liked Deku. He was almost likable- for a hero. But he was definitely a hero. He could never fully commit himself to their cause. He was a temporary ally at best.

For now, it seemed Deku was still on their side. But Twice wondered how long that could last.

x

Saturday, 12:15 AM

Iida was overseeing evacuations when Bakugou stumbled out of the smoke. The city was doomed, and they had to get as many people out as they could, but everyone wanted to take their keepsakes. Iida couldn't blame them for that. What he could blame, however, was the people who tried to leave pets behind. Luckily Kouda was also at work, and had put together a team of dogs to sniff for abandoned pets. This in addition to the dogs he had searching for people who were trapped in rubble.

When Bakugou appeared, Iida called for a medic, but Bakugou waved them away.

"Save it for the people who need it," he said.

"Bakugou-kun! Are you alright?" Iida asked.

"No need to be so loud, I'm not deaf," Bakugou snapped. He rolled his eyes, but then added quietly "And not really. I just met Blood Fist."

"What?!"

"Ugh, I think he bruised a rib."

"You mean you injured him?!"

"No, you idiot. I think he bruised one of my ribs! Honestly class rep." Bakugou rolled his eyes again.

"O-oh."

"That jerk. What the hell is wrong with him. Becoming a villain? I mean what the hell? And then he goes and still holds back on me!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you really think I'd have just a bruised rib if Izuku had gone all out?"

"Wait, when did you- I mean, what makes you say-"

"I knocked his helmet off, glasses. I know Blood Fist is Izuku. And don't even try to act shocked. If I'd paid more attention than I would have already figured that out. He read my movements like an open book. Only Izuku could do that. And his fighting style too. I should have noticed sooner. It's like a bad dream that keeps getting worse."

Iida didn't know what to say. Like many of their former classmates, Iida was closer to Midoriya than he was to Bakugou, but he did consider both of them friends. Right now, his friend was suffering, and he could do nothing. Some hero he was.

"Are you alright, onii-san?" a child asked, coming up on the two of them unnoticed. "Your back is bleeding. It looks like it hurts. If you want, my mommy taught me a magic spell to make pain go away."

"Bakugou, did your wound from last time reopen?!" Iida asked.

"Oh, yeah. That happened," Bakugou said, unconcerned. He turned and knelt next to the child patting her on the head.

"Thanks, but you don't need to worry. It doesn't hurt at all. So save your magic spells for later, okay?"

The child nodded, and ran off towards and woman who was struggling with a large suitcase. Behind Bakugou, Iida gestured frantically for the medic to return, as Bakugou really was bleeding a lot. This time Bakugou submitted to treatment with a sigh.

"By the way, have you guys seen Magnet-man? He's supposed to be keeping an eye on me, but I got separated from him."

"No, I haven't," Iida said, shaking his head. "Why is he keeping an eye on you?"

"Because that bastard Kurogiri saved me twice last week. And a third time if you count earlier. Not that I needed his help. But because of that, they think I'm spying for the League of Villains or something. Probably even more if they know about Izuku being Blood Fist."

"Kurogiri did?! What?!" Iida asked.

"Do you ever tone down the intensity?" Bakugou asked him. Iida ignored him. Partly because Magnet-man staggered out of the smoke himself then, bleeding heavily and missing an arm.

Beside Iida, Bakugou clenched his fist.

"Damnit Izuku! How could you side with people who do this?" Bakugou asked.

As the medic rushed to tend to Magnet-man, Iida pondered Bakugou's question. But he had no answers. No one did.

x

Friday-Saturday

It squeezed Deku's heart to leave Katuski behind, and even more that he had to hit Katsuki to do so. It had been difficult to judge how much force to use, since he didn't want to hurt Katsuki, but he didn't want to take it too easy lest Katsuki get up and try and follow him. But Katsuki would be alright for now, and Deku had things he needed to do.

Almost all of the citizens of B City were able to safely evacuate. The League of Villains may have been villains, but they had a goal to reform society for the good of all. Their only enemy was the heroes, and while a little collateral damage was fine, that didn't mean they wouldn't try and give ordinary people a chance.

It took a little more than 40 hours to completely raze B City. They left one thing standing: a statue of All Might, turned upside down. Let that be a message for the people, that their heroes were useless. They hadn't stopped the League of Villains from destroying the city.

After the destruction was finished, Deku joined Shigaraki and Kurogiri in a call to All For One. They mostly discussed strategy and how to move forward. All For One did most of the talking, though Shigaraki and Kurogiri also had things to say. But Deku stayed quiet until the very end, just before the call was to be ended.

"One last thing," he said.

"What is it?" All For One asked.

"I'm ready."

"Glad to hear it," All For One said.

In all honesty, Deku was not ready. For him to be revealed as Blood Fist- it made him rather uneasy. But at the same time, what was the point in hiding it? And if it could further the League's goals, all the better. By helping the League with their goals, Deku got that much closer to achieving his own.

Deku knew that the next day his face would be all over the news. He knew that people would try and hush it up, just as they had tried to keep quiet the true identity of the Hero-Killer Stain. But just as that had gotten out then, this would get out now.

Deku felt sorry for all his friends, and his mom, who would all certainly be blamed for this. People would judge them for his behavior. But they had nothing to do with this. He was doing this on his own. And the reasons he had for doing this were important enough that he didn't care who got dragged down with him. If he had to destroy everyone he cared about, so be it. But he had to do what he had to do


	4. The Decision

Sunday

Kacchan was sick of it. Ever since that video revealing Blood Fist as the hero Deku had been first released, it was all anyone would talk about. It had been less than a day and already the video had been deleted and resurfaced a few dozen times. There were discussion threads that lasted only a few minutes but got hundreds of thousands of views, talking about what had brought on this development, what kind of background did Deku have, and altogether soaking it up. It made Kacchan sick.

At work, he was back at his desk, rewriting Aoyama's stupid reports. Magnet-man was also there, insisting on coming to work despite his missing arm. He could still be a hero, he insisted. Kacchan supposed in a time like this, they needed guys like Magnet-man.

It was pure chance that Kacchan overheard the discussion. He'd gotten up to get some coffee because he needed something good in his life and between recent events and Aoyama's reports, coffee was about all he had left. He had to make a new pot, and as he waited for it to brew, that was when he heard it.

"A task force to capture Blood Fist?" someone asked. Kacchan grit his teeth. Why did they insist on calling Izuku by that name? It was like they were trying to erase the fact that he had been a hero.

"Not so loud! Don't you know how close he and Bakugou were?"

"Sorry, but are they really going to try? I mean… if he really is who they say he is, then Blood Fist is just too strong. There's no way anyone can beat him, even if everyone teams up."

"Don't be ridiculous. He's still only one guy. There'll be tons of heroes working together to bring him down. That's how important it is to stop him. Without him, the League of Villains will be- well, they'll still be a threat, but a much more manageable one."

"I suppose…"

"Look, if you're that worried, they'll still need people to hold off the other villains from the League."

"I guess I could do that. But how will this all work? It's not like we know where they are or anything."

"Apparently there's some plan in place. Point is, just show up tomorrow at the city hall at 6:00. That's when they'll hold the announcement."

The coffee maker finished, and Kacchan poured his mug, then headed back to his desk as quietly as he could. A plan to capture Izuku to be announced tomorrow? He would have to be there. Izuku needed to be stopped. And somehow, he just didn't see anyone but him pulling it off.

x

Monday evening

The city hall was packed. There were all sorts of heroes there, from every agency in the city. Almost all of them were in their costumes- Kacchan was one of the few who wasn't. But he had a feeling that if anyone recognized him, they would insist that he leave. He understood their thinking, but really, he wanted Izuku stopped more than any of them. There was no way he wanted to see his boyfriend like this.

People were milling about, and Kacchan hunched over nervously, drawing his hood down over his face. He supposed he looked suspicious, but luckily, no one was paying attention. After all, there was no way there would be a villain brazen enough to attack such a large gathering of heroes, right?

Finally, silence swept over the lobby they were all waiting in, and everyone looked up at a balcony where someone now stood: Kacchan recognized it as the bigshot hero Archangella. From here on out, he probably wouldn't recognize such heroes so easily, as it had always been Izuku who paid attention to those things.

"Greetings," Archangella called. "We are here today to discuss a plan to stop the villain Blood Fist. He has killed or injured too many of our comrades, and must be brought to justice. It will not be easy, and no one will blame any of you if you leave now."

No one moved.

"Very well. Ideally, we would initiate an attack ourselves, but we have yet to ascertain the whereabouts of the League of Villains' base. So we will have to settle for the next best thing: an ambush. Recently, we called in an expert to look through the memories of captured villains. At first, results bore no fruit, but recently we managed to get ahold of a League member who could read minds, and who had used her quirk to discover the upcoming plans of the League. Based on her information, we know now that the League of Villains intends to strike Q City on Friday. Like the attacks on this city and B City, it will be an all-out assault, meaning we can guarantee many high-ranking members of the League will be there. We will be splitting into teams in order to capture the most prominent figures, but the majority of our task force will be dedicated towards the elimination of Blood Fist. This is our number one priority.

"As you are all certainly aware of by now, Blood Fist was one of our own. Some of you may have qualms about fighting against him, but I must caution you to set such doubts aside. You must not hold back against Blood Fist, and you must not entertain notions of a live capture. Blood Fist is simply too dangerous. The only way to stop him is to finish him off. I will now ask you to form groups based on your quirks, so that you can be assigned accordingly."

At this, banners dropped down along the walls, identifying areas to gather. Kacchan paused, wondering whether it would be best to go over to the "Fire" banner or the "General Attacking" banner. He decided on the latter. As did most of the heroes in the room. He hoped they wouldn't be asked about their quirks. His luck held, as once the motion of people towards various banners stopped, someone hopped up on a platform and announced the "General Attacking" group would be largely focused on Blood Fist, though any members who would rather opt to fight against other League members were welcome to volunteer. A few people did step to the side for this, stating who they would prefer to fight against.

The meeting ended with them being told when and where to report for transport to Q City. Thursday, 10 PM, the southwest bus station for Kacchan's group. As soon as the announcements were over, he turned and left without a word.

He made it out of city hall and across the plaza, but no farther than that, as something grabbed him and dragged him to the side before he could break free. It released him before he could release a proper explosion, and he found himself face to face with his former classmates Tokoyami and Jiro.

"What the fuck?" he asked.

"Huh, it really is you. You know, I wasn't really sure," Jiro said.

"What do you want?"

"Why were you at that meeting?" Tokoyami asked.

"Because I want to stop Izuku. Why else?"

"And what did you think?" Jiro asked.

"What do you mean, what did I think?"

"About their plan. Their insistence on killing Midoriya."

"Oh. That." Kacchan's jaw clenched unbidden.

"You're not the only one who feels that way," Tokoyami said, reading his expression.

"Take this. Yaomomo made it," Jiro said, holding out an ear piece. "Most of our former classmates, some of the UA teachers, and a few other trusted pros will all be wearing them during the battle on Friday. Any sign of Deku will be reported. If we can get to him before everyone else, talk to him…"

"We want to believe in Midoriya," Tokoyami said.

"Yeah. Him being a villain really doesn't make sense," Kacchan agreed.

"Good luck," Jiro said, and the two disappeared, albeit in opposite directions. Kacchan too turned to go, closing his fist around the earpiece.

"Izuku, hold on. I'll bring you back. Just wait for me," he whispered into the darkness.

For the first time since All Might had showed up in hospital room, Kacchan felt a sense of hope. He could do this. He could bring Izuku home.

x

Thursday evening

Just before Kacchan got out of work, Uraraka showed up. He was a bit puzzled, especially when he heard her tell someone she was waiting for him. He did not appreciate the looks people started giving him that made it seem as if they thought she was his girlfriend. Why would he want to date Uraraka when he already had Izuku?

"What are you doing here?" he asked when she met him at the door.

"I knew it! You completely forgot the class reunion today, didn't you!" Uraraka accused.

Class reunion? Was there such a thing? Izuku would know. But he couldn't ask Izuku anymore.

"It's not like I have any reason to go," Kacchan grumbled.

"How cruel! After you promised Sero-kun that you guys would sing karaoke together!"

He definitely hadn't promised such a thing. Even drunk there was no way he'd agree to that.

He was about to make a rude reply when he noticed Uraraka's eye twitching. Was she- was she trying to _wink_? What a weirdo.

"Let's go," she said, and grabbed his hand, activating her quirk as she did so that she could drag him along behind her effortlessly.

"I can walk by myself!" he protested. Uraraka ignored him.

Kacchan ended up being tugged along a few blocks, onto a bus, and then to a gated driveway with the name "Yaoyorozu" on the name plate. Uraraka pressed a button and said "Yaomomo! Yaomomo! I brought him!"

The gate opened and Kacchan was dragged up the driveway. He really didn't have time for a stupid class reunion. The attack on Q City was tomorrow. He should be home, preparing.

Uraraka headed over to a side building and finally released Kacchan from her zero gravity right outside the door. He just had time to glare at her before the door opened and Yaoyorozu ushered them in.

Inside, there was nothing like a class reunion. Sure, many of his former classmates were there, and a few teachers, but no one was drinking, no one was chatting amicably, no one was drifting down memory lane. Instead, everyone there was busy. Some of the guys were working out over on one side, while other people were going over equipment. Yaoyorozu pointed to a long table stocked with support items and told Kacchan and Uraraka to help themselves. It seemed she had been busy.

"If you explain your gauntlets to me, I can make them for you," Yaoyorozu told Kacchan, "but it's probably best if you don't wear your usual costume. As I'm sure you've realized, there are those who are suspicious of you. Same goes for a lot of us as well. I can make a new outfit for you as well, while I'm at it. I've already done so for some of the others."

"It'd be nice to have my gauntlets, but I think they'd be too recognizable. But a new outfit would be good. Something with a hood. Other than that I don't really care too much. But if it's stupid I'll just blow it up."

"Got it."

Kacchan joined the group working out, and kept at it until someone announced that dinner had arrived. Sitting still to eat was agonizing, because now that he'd seen everyone preparing it had sunk in that they were going to fight, and he needed to be doing something so that he could keep from getting too nervous. They had to win this fight. And not just the fight: they had to get to Izuku first, and convince him to leave the League before anyone else could come kill him.

x

Friday, early morning

It was time.

Deku's target was one of the more prominent hero agencies in Q City. If he hit it directly, it was unlikely any of them would make it out. Unless he held back a little.

"Don't hesitate," Shigaraki told him. Deku sighed. There was no turning back now. Not that there had been any turning back for a while now.

They entered Q City quietly, each heading stealthily towards their marks. Deku used his quirk to leap up the side of a tall building near his target. At the signal, they would all attack.

Deku sat at the edge of the rooftop and waited, watching the first traces of the sky beginning to color with sunrise and trying to keep his thoughts under control. It happened a lot, where he kept wondering if this was really the right way. Where he kept thinking that maybe there had to be another, better way to do this. Where he kept hating himself for everything he'd done. Where he kept wanting to turn his back on this and just go home to Katsuki.

No. He needed to stop that. He couldn't think that this was wrong. He couldn't think about finding another way. And he definitely couldn't think about Katsuki. The draw he felt towards home became too great when he did that.

The flare arced high above the city, and Deku got to his feet. He leapt upwards, getting as high as he could and then flipping, twisting while he did so. He plummeted headfirst towards the ground, already seeing signs of the attacks of the others. His target was in sight. He pulled his fist back, ready to attack.

 _Smash_.

Deku swung, and a wave of sheer force blasted ahead of him, slowing him down and flattening the building below him. But not killing the people inside. He'd still held back, in the end. He supposed he should be disappointed in himself, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. It seemed that he just wasn't a killer.

x

Friday, 5:45 AM

Kacchan woke up to pre-dawn darkness. He stretched, nearly hitting Kaminari, who was snoring away. He looked around, and saw that Kaminari was one of the few still sleeping. Some looked like they hadn't slept at all.

Kacchan stared out the window, watching as they got closer and closer to Q City. The sun was just beginning to peep over the horizon. It was a beautiful scene, the sunrise, the quiet city, the slowly arcing flare…

Everyone in the bus leaned forward as the first buildings began to crumble. It seemed the League of Villains felt that they should continue to attack the way they had at B City: by destroying as much as they could as quickly as they could.

"Open the emergency exits. Anyone whose quirk gives so speed, go!" Yaoyorozu shouted.

Kacchan had already opened his window and was halfway out by the time she shouted it. As were some of his other classmates. Iida, Sero, Ashido, Asui, and Todoroki were all making their way out as well. The six of them used their quirks to leave the bus behind.

x

Friday, 6:10 AM

Deku had already taken out his second target and was on his way to his third when he was intercepted by the first heroes. He dealt with them easily, blowing them away and moving on. His part in today's plan centered on taking out his five targets first. Then he could lay waste to the heroes.

By the time Deku reached the fourth target, he'd noticed something was off. There were too many heroes appearing. He felt certain the others had probably noticed as well. They were behind schedule, and he wondered if the others were just waylaid or if they had fallen. He didn't seem to care either way. He wondered if he should try and contact All For One and ask if he should take on more targets, but deep down he knew it was merely a desire to avoid fighting that suggested this. He'd have to face the heroes sometime. He'd take out his targets, and then he would do what he'd been recruited for. He might not finish them off, but he would make the heroes into easy prey.

x

Friday, 6:25 AM

Kacchan found his first two villains before he reached any of the collapsed buildings. He captured them easily. Small fries.

Kacchan wanted to look for Izuku, but there could be people trapped in the buildings that had fallen, and so he went there first. It seemed other heroes had had the same idea, however, as the first destruction site he got to was already swarming with rescue activity.

It was in making his way to the next destruction site that Kacchan came across the first brawl. There was no other word for it. There were villains and heroes, fighting like crazy. Kacchan considered ignoring it, since he had other priorities, but then he saw a hero who was in trouble, and he dashed over to the rescue. Once he'd done that, he had to subdue the villain and capture them, and then there were other heroes who needed help, and before he knew it he was in up to his neck with the effort to capture all the villains.

Finally, there were no more villains, and Kacchan ran off, but he noticed that one of the people running the same direction as him kept pace behind him, staying in his blind spot. It made him uneasy, and to be certain, he took a slight detour. Sure enough, the person followed. He didn't have time for this. There were people to rescue, villains to catch, and he still hadn't found Izuku. He couldn't waste time dealing with some hero who had decided to tail him. He used his quirk to blast his way upwards until he was running on rooftops instead of the ground. His pursuer didn't follow, which hopefully meant their quirk didn't give them any extra mobility. He raced back to the main route, using his quirk to increase his running speed.

"I've found him! Midoriya's heading south on X Street, he just crossed the river!" someone said in Kacchan's earpiece. He wasn't super familiar with Q City, but he was currently near the northern edge. He was pretty far from where Izuku was.

"Everyone, hurry, he was just engaged by some heroes. He should be able to handle them, but more will be coming!"

"I can be there in two minutes!" a voice that was definitely Iida replied. A few others gave ETAs.

"Oy, glasses rep. Tell that idiot that if he doesn't listen to you guys, I'm gonna beat the shit out of him when I get there," Kacchan said, and turned to head south. He had a boyfriend to find.

x

Friday, 6:50 AM

Deku had been fighting for a while when familiar faces appeared. Shouji and Iida. He didn't want to hurt them.

"Midoriya!" Iida shouted. "Please, stop this!"

Deku didn't respond. With his stupid helmet, they probably wouldn't hear him anyway.

"Midoriya, Bakugou said he's on his way, and that he is going to beat some sense into you!" Shouji called.

"No, he said that if Midoriya doesn't listen to us, he'll beat the shit out of him! Say it properly!" Iida yelled at Shouji.

"I was paraphrasing!" Shouji replied.

Deku used a smash to blow both of them away.

But after that, more and more of his classmates kept coming. Iida returned within a few minutes, so he used more power to blast Iida even farther away. He felt guilty, hitting his friends like that. But he had to do it. The same went for his teachers.

And then in the midst of a fight with Todoroki, Ojiro, Hagakure, and Ectoplasm, his foes suddenly pulled back as he was hit from behind by an explosion. His helmet clattered away, and he had to laugh. That was twice now that Katsuki had managed to knock off Deku's helmet; a feat no one else had managed.

x

Friday, 7:15 AM

It took almost half an hour for Kacchan to get to Izuku. He'd been fraught with worry the whole time, certain that he would find Izuku already dead, or that he would find him amidst a pile of bodies. But while there was a certain amount of wreckage in the area where Izuku was when he caught up, no one had been killed.

It was four-on-one, and Izuku was clearly holding back, but that allowed the four to create an opening for Kacchan. He took it. As the helmet went flying, he saw a small smile on Izuku's face, just for a second.

And then Izuku was back in action, taking the opportunity to blow his other attackers away.

It was just as Kacchan had thought: Izuku was no villain. There was no way he would ever kill his friends. Kacchan still didn't understand why Izuku was doing this. But he didn't need to.

There was just a split second when Izuku went to blow the others away that his guard was down. Kacchan knew when that split second was. He had seen Izuku fight so many times by now. Just as Izuku could read him like an open book, he could do the same to Izuku. He grabbed Izuku's arms and pulled him in close, restricting Izuku's movements. It was a gamble, one where he hoped that if it was him, Izuku wouldn't use force right away.

Kacchan won. Izuku struggled, but without using his quirk

"Izuku, please. Stop this. I know you, and I know you're not a villain. Please. Come home."

x

Deku knew it was all over a moment after he went to blow everyone away. He realized his mistake even before Katsuki's hands appeared in his field of vision and grabbed his arms. When he was this close to Katsuki, there was no running away. He just wanted to break down and hold Katsuki close and never let go. Forget the League of Villains. Forget fixing this broken world. Katsuki was all that mattered, all that had ever mattered.

Katsuki was begging him to stop, but he didn't need to bother. Izuku no longer had the will to fight. How simple and overpowering love was.

"Katsuki, do you remember what you said last time? You said you loved me, really, really loved me. Me too. I love you, Katsuki. So very, very much."

Deku watched in amusement as Katsuki turned bright red and looked away in embarrassment. Who wouldn't love this guy who was so cute?

"Izuku…" Katsuki began, clearly having something to say.

But Deku wasn't listening, because behind Katsuki, he'd spotted someone about to shoot.

x

When Midoriya Izuku did not fight back against Bakugou Katsuki, it became clear that the latter had to die for Blood Fist's reign to continue. Time to end the Oath. All For One gave the signal.

And then the idiot had to try and snipe from Midoriya's line of sight.

x

Kacchan knew what he had to do, but he couldn't do it without saying anything to Izuku. It just didn't feel right. He had just started to say it when Izuku suddenly broke free of his loosened grip and rushed past him. He turned, feeling the world move in slow motion as Izuku moved out of reach, and he was scared, so scared, because he'd just failed, and then Izuku slammed a villain who had been just inside a nearby doorway to the ground.

Kacchan could just hear as Izuku said "I won't let you hurt Katsuki. A promise is a promise. You broke your deal, now I'm breaking mine."

He could just see Izuku tying up the villain.

And then Izuku turned around and walked back to him. He couldn't help himself. He threw his arms around Izuku, hugging him tightly. Izuku returned the hug. It was the best he'd felt in weeks. He wished the hug could last forever.

"Izuku, I'm going to have to turn you in," he whispered.

"I know. You are a hero, after all," Izuku said, releasing Kacchan and holding out his arms for restraints.

"So are you, you damn nerd," Kacchan said, choking back tears. He didn't need to look up to know Izuku was doing the same.

Around Q City, the battle against the League of Villains still raged. But for Kacchan and Izuku, it was already over.

x

The aftermath

Q City did not get destroyed. There was a lot of damage: many buildings were collapsed, the power was only maintained through the efforts of a team of electric-type heroes working around the clock for the good of the people, and most transportation was down due to blocked roads and train lines. Almost a dozen heroes died, and civilian death tolls were about the same. More were injured, but none were beyond recovery. As for the villains, some were captured, but many escaped to wreak havoc another day.

Initially, the battle of Q City was considered a failure by most of the heroes there. However, the news soon spread that Blood Fist had been captured and turned in to the police over in Tatooin City. There were many who called for the death penalty, however they were soon opposed by a rush of people from Q City who came forward claiming to have been helped by Blood Fist. Others argued that Blood Fist's past service as the hero Deku should give him a lighter sentence. And then there was the investigation into why Q City hadn't been evacuated: it was attributed to a combination of fear of tipping off the League of Villains about the counterassault of the heroes and overconfidence that so many heroes working together would be able to stop the League of Villains from causing any damage to Q City or its citizens. The controversy surrounding the attack on Q City and the capture of Blood Fist dominated the news for over a month.

Deku read about it from his cell. He got pretty good treatment overall, on account of most of the officers there having known him since his days as a student at UA. He'd helped them many times, and they had yet to forget it.

Deku did get some visitors as he awaited his trial. Many of his school friends came by, and some of his colleagues. His mom came too, and cried and cried. Most of his visitors tried to be encouraging, though some only came to tell him they hoped he rotted in Hell. And once, Kurogiri brought a few members of the League of Villains to offer him his freedom if he came back with them. But he was done with that.

The one person who didn't visit was Katsuki. They'd decided on that on their way back to Tatooin. He didn't want people pointing fingers at Katsuki saying that since he was so close to Deku then he too must be a villain. He would not be responsible for dragging Katsuki down. So Deku sat in his cell and read the newspapers they gave him each day. And every night he replayed in his head the last private moment they'd had before he'd been turned in, when Katsuki had told him "I'll wait for you forever, Izuku. Definitely.


End file.
